Republican and Democrat leaders should be held accountable for creating division

Violent protesters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol on Wednesday in Washington.

John Minchillo ~ Associated Press

When you demonize the other side, there’s really nowhere left to go.

There’s no room for negotiation or mediation. There’s no room for compromise or compassion.

There is only hate, fear and anger. That is not what this nation was built on, but it might be what destroys our country.

The political climate that has intensified in our nation for four years, eight years, a decade, more maybe, reached a boiling point Wednesday with actions for which we should all be ashamed. Republicans and Democrats alike have spurred their grassroot supporters for many years by stoking a fire of distrust and dissension. Whether it was our silence, our complicity or our apathy that brought us to this point, none of us can claim innocence in the state of our country today.

This is a fire that threatens to consume us all if the only thing we continue to see across the aisle is someone who wants to ruin our way of life.

It is never right for protest to lead to property destruction. It is disgraceful for anyone to enter the halls where our laws are made and take selfies while vandalizing taxpayer property. No matter who sits in that seat today, it ultimately belongs to the citizens.

The individuals responsible for the destruction and deaths that occurred Wednesday in the Capitol should be held accountable, as should anyone else who participates in similar actions during other protests.

But we can’t continue to be surprised by the violence and division if we don’t hold our leaders, both Democrat and Republican, accountable for failing to work together and for continuing to pit us against our friends and neighbors in their bids for political control.